


Basorexia

by char1ynch



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Cute Ending, Cutesy, Denial of Feelings, Every character but Maeve and Otis is background, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Made Myself Cry, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I love them so much, Longing, Maeve is emotional and soft in this, Near Future, Otis is the awkward cutie he always is, Out of Character, Romantic Fluff, Teenagers, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 15:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17428991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/char1ynch/pseuds/char1ynch
Summary: three times Maeve and Otis almost kiss, and the one time that they do.





	Basorexia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [emulationgame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emulationgame/gifts).



> this is honestly really messy but PLEASE bare with me ok? i know they're out of character, they're supposed to be!!  
> (gifting this story to the user I chose because their maeve and otis story is amazing and deserves more love! idk how gifting works since I've never done it before, but hope you enjoy it nonetheless love ❤)

I.

 

The first time was at the age of 12. Her hair was long and blonde, the prospect of even dyeing her hair seemed something so unappealing to her at the moment. All she cared about was her studies, and having enough marks to secure her spot in higher level classes in year 7. That is, until she had made Otis’s acquaintance. He was a strange and lanky young teenager, far different than someone she normally would have made a friendship with, but he was caring and he treated her nicely, always checking in on her to make sure she was okay and that she was doing well in her classes, offering tutoring if she was struggling in any aspect that he may not have been. She always reassured him with a small smile that she was okay, but the truth was, she wasn’t. She was struggling, but Maeve had never been one to ask for help, choosing to be independent and not having to rely on anyone because all anyone had ever done was let her down, and she couldn’t let herself think her new friend would be any different than the rest. She was walking down the hallways at school when a group of boys stepped into her path, calling her all sorts of vicious and derogatory names, among her most famous one, ‘cockbiter’. She just ignored their remarks, trying to sidestep them so that she could start the trek to her caravan on the other side of town, but she was just roughly shoved into a locker, the force making her head bounce off. 

“Leave her alone.” She heard a familiar voice say, and she looked over to see Otis standing inches away from them, and she felt relief flood over her body. She hated being a damsel, but she knew that she would have him to always keep her out of these types of situations, so she never worried too much about anything her peers had to say about her. 

“What was that, snowflake?” One of the boys, Adam, stepped closer to her friend and she wriggled from the grip of the boy holding onto her and made her way to his side, staring him down with cold eyes. After a few moments, he backed off, muttering something she couldn’t quite catch under his breath before he stalked away with his buddies in tow, leaving the pair alone in the now vacant halls. She turned to the taller boy, and gave him a grateful smile, before starting in the direction of the exit to the school, but he seized her hand gently and held her in place, a small smile playing on his lips. They looked at one another for a long time, and at some point, they had both began to lean in, their lips almost barely touching before she realized what was happening and she stepped back hastily, running a hand through her long blonde locks. His face fell, but she didn’t give it much thought, because she was already halfway down the hall, willing herself not to turn back to see how much her pulling back had hurt him. She only hoped that their friendship wouldn’t suffer because of it.

 

II.

 

The second time was the summer they had both turned 14. They were hosting a joint birthday party together, like they had done the previous two years, the incident of their almost kiss long forgotten. Maeve had cut all of her hair off but it was still pure blonde, the ends slightly discolored from her first attempt at giving herself highlights the month before. The two best friends stood side by side, as Jean fussed over what the two could wear that would coordinate with the theme of the party and what the other would be wearing. She wanted to wear black, whereas Otis wanted to sport baby blue, and they had come to an agreement that Maeve would wear a short blue dress with black flats and her male counterpart would wear a blue dress shirt and black slacks paired with black loafers, courtesy of his intrusive mother. The girl really adored his mother, but seeing their interactions made her throat close up, those kinds of moments with her mother never being able to happen again due to her prison sentence. 

“Maeve darling, is something bothering you?” The kind woman asked, her hand resting delicately on her bare forearm, but she just shook her head softly, giving her a reassuring smile before the trio exited the house and climbed into the car Jean had bought a few months prior, driving them to their friend Aimee’s house for the party. When they got out together, a few of their peers had began to whisper, but both were used to it, they had been since the incident when they were 12. Everyone had assumed they were shagging, and no matter how much the two tried to calm the rampant rumors, they never succeeded for more than a few weeks before the topic would arise again. She would never admit it, but she liked the sound of being Otis’s girlfriend, which is why she didn’t try nearly as hard as he did to calm down the rumors about their dating. Once they had stepped over the threshold over the grand mansion, Eric immediately whisked him away from her, promising that they would meet back up as the party progressed on. She lingered with uncertainty by the doorway, but she was quickly saved by the host of the party, who gave her a smile before looping their arms together and babbling about something Maeve couldn’t quite catch. The teenager’s eyes wandered over the party guests, trying to locate Otis among the crowd, but she was saddened by his absence, so she devoted all of her attention to her female mate, who was more than happy to divert her attention from anything she had going on in her life. She stayed with Aimee for well over two hours, before she excused herself to go to the toilet, but in reality she was going to track down her male friend and spend some time with him before they had to go their separate ways for the night. She moved briskly throughout the crowd, mumbling multiple apologies to people she had ran into, before she spotted the familiar head of black hair a few inches away from where she stood. 

“Otis.” She spoke, tapping him on his shoulder. He turned around to look at her, and he looked relieved to see her from the way he grabbed her hand and led her into the sitting room, into the very corner of the room. She ignored the way his body hovered near hers, and focused on his features instead, watching the way his mouth formed words and the way the corners of his eyes crinkled whenever he found something comical. She had noticed so many things about him in these past few weeks than she ever had before, and it was frightening to her. She had never had a steady boyfriend before, or even a boyfriend at all, but if she were to have one, she would want it to be Otis, for so many reasons. 

“Are you alright?” His tone concering and his body now closer to hers than ever before, and she felt her breath catch. She nodded and looked up at him through her eyelashes, and she felt herself closing the space between them, before he stumbled back and threw his hands up as if to keep her away from him. She felt her hands fall back down to her sides and she fiddled with her necklace around her throat before she mumbled something under her breath and disappeared outside, leaving him dumbfounded. Mascara was streaking her cheeks and the cold was biting bitterly at her cheeks, but she didn’t care, she just had to leave. She had to get away from the situation, from Otis, before she completely lost all sense of closeness with him. His eyes and concerned gaze haunted her the whole way home, and even in her dreams, and she never had felt more longing and more sadness in her 14 years of life.

 

III.

 

The third time was when they were the age of 16. They were now in secondary school, and they had grown very far apart, but they still exchanged glances and small smiles whenever they saw one another, to keep the civilness between them. The night after their 14th birthday party, Maeve had added pink highlights to her hair and gotten her nose pierced, instantly gaining more intimidation points for herself. She had fucked more guys than she could count, and decided that she would never want a stable relationship with anyone, vouching for more promiscuous scenarios for herself. Today was like any other, except for the fact that she was supposed to be in the old bathroom with Aimee, but was stuck fucking around at her locker with a jock she didn’t know the name of, promising him sex later if he pissed off and left her to her own devices. Thankfully, he left her alone, only to reveal Otis standing several feet behind him, on the other side of the hallway. She locked eyes with him, and quickly turned away, hiding the longing look on her face with him. Even after all the time that had passed, something in her heart still panged to be with him, but with her learning of her pregnancy, she just couldn’t face him. She grabbed her things and turned to leave, but he quickly approached her and asked her if she was alright.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” She quickly asked, cringing internally at how suspicious she sounded. She had told no one of her carelessness, and she didn’t plan on doing so, not even her childhood friend, who was looking at her with all the concern that he could muster.

“You just look kinda pale, that’s all.” He shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jumper and dropping his gaze to the tiled floor underneath their feet. They stood, awkwardly looking at one another every few moments, before she did something she wasn’t expecting herself to do.

“Can you accompany me somewhere tonight? It’s quite late so I understand if you can’t but you really are my only hope.” She felt her breath quicken, and she mentally punched herself for asking him something like that. She was getting her abortion tonight and she needed someone there after the procedure to accompany her home, and she had no one else she could trust but Aimee, but she already had plans with her other friend group, so that was a bust. 

“Uh yeah s-sure.” He replied, looking up at her. She nodded and told him she would text him before disappearing for the day, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. School ended and along with it came the realization of just what she was doing. She never envisioned herself as a mother, and she was very sure that she didn’t want to be, due to the simple fact that she was royally fucked up and she didn’t want to bring a kid into her situation. So she made the tough decision for the sake of her unborn child, and also for herself. She got to the clinic in little to no time and she went inside, filling out paperwork to pass the dragging time. The door opened unexpectedly after half an hour, and Otis was there and she was relieved but also frustrated, practically pushing him back out the door. She felt bad for telling him to piss off, but she couldn’t be vulnerable with him again, she just couldn’t. The time came and she was taken back to a room, and as she went under, her last thought was of him strangely enough. As was the first thought she had when she woke up. When they gave her the okay to leave, she dressed quickly and went to the receptionist, trying to make up a valid reason so that she could leave alone, when she heard a throat clear from behind her. She turned to see him waiting for her, and she couldn’t stop the grin from finding its way onto her face as she saw the roses in his hand.

“You waited.” She said softly, biting down on her lip to wipe the smile from her face. He nodded and simply said “of course.” She listened to the woman tell her what she could potentially face after the procedure and they exited the clinic together, ignoring the pro life activists shoving pamphlets into their faces. The walk was silent, until they reached the top of the hill overlooking where her caravan was located. She was now holding the roses he had purchased for her in one hand while gripping the strap on her bag with the other, but she couldn’t calm the nerves she was feeling down. His hand rested on her shoulder and she looked at him from the corner of her eye. 

“Don’t.” She said forcefully before starting down the hill, not expecting him to follow her. Once they reached the outside of where she was living, she came over to him and gave him a hug. His hand on her back was comforting, and she felt at peace after everything that had just happened at the clinic, and she found herself not wanting to let him go just yet. She clung to him like a lifeline, and she nearly forgot to let him go as he slightly pulled back, which left their faces inches away from one anothers. She moved forward to rest her forehead on his, and then, she pulled away. 

“Goodnight Otis, thank you.” She whispered softly before she turned and disappeared into her caravan, denying his offer to follow her inside so she wouldn’t be alone. She watched him leave from the grime stained window and she bit her fingernail as she watched him get smaller and smaller in the distance. Once she was sure he was gone, she finally allowed a smile to break out onto her face.

 

IV.

 

They were 18 now and had long since left secondary school. They went to separate universities, but that didn’t stop them from finding every possible opportunity for them to hang out with one another. Otis had just left a long term relationship and Maeve had been waiting for the chance to be with him for so long, it almost felt too good to be true when he brought up his breakup with Ola in casual conversation. She pretended to be sympathetic, but she was giddy, and it was becoming really fucking hard for her to hide it from him anymore. They sat in his flat on the couch, watching a program on the telly about mating, which was comically ironic to the current situation. She watched him from the corner of her eye, and she couldn’t hide the smile that formed at how immersed he was in what they were watching, even though it was quite boring and bland to things they had watched in their time together previously.

“Is there anything else to watch? I’m bored.” She announced, stretching out on the couch to rest her head on his thigh to make herself more comfortable. She felt his leg stiffen underneath her head and she moved into a semi sitting position, raising her eyebrow at his behavior. He just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, and she pushed his oddness to the back of her mind before getting back into her position prior, staring at the screen blankly. He eventually switched the telly to something about dwarves, but her interest still wasn’t piqued, so she sat practically curled up on his lap to take a nap. 

“Maeve?” He asked after a long bout of silence, and she turned over to look up at him, her heart jumping at the way he was looking down at her. Without warning, he leaned down towards her and quickly pecked her nose, making her let out a guffaw as she moved back into a seated position so that she could be closer to him. She moved into his side and rested her head against the fabric of his shirt, and the feeling of his warm skin against her cheek was enough to make her feel as peaceful as possible. She thought of their teenage years and all of their good memories, specifically all the times they had almost kissed each other. She thought that her crush on Otis was a schoolgirl one, but she quickly discovered that it wasn’t, and that she wanted to be with him far more than anyone else. 

“Otis, did you ever fancy me when we were in primary and secondary school?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking the question, her curiosity too alive to take it back now, and she hoped that the answer wasn’t bad like she thought it would be. She heard him let out a breath and she moved away so that she could observe his facial expressions, to see if his words were going to be truthful. 

“I did actually. I kind of do still fancy you, if I’m being honest.” He shyly stated, his eyes looking everywhere but at her, and she felt her cheeks heat up at his confession. She placed her hand on top of his, where it rested on the couch, and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear while she waited for him to say something. 

“I fancy you too. I have for quite some time.” She revealed, releasing a breath that she felt like she had been holding in for an extremely long time. His eyes widened at her words and a grin broke out on his features, and they smiled at one another before they leaned towards each other, finally closing the distance between them after so long. His lips were chapped against hers, but it was still sweeter than any other kiss she had ever received, much more searching. She cupped his face in her hands as their lips moved against one anothers, and his hands remained firmly on her waist, not moving any higher or any lower. When they broke apart for air, their foreheads remained pressed together, and she thanked whatever had been listening to her pleas for this moment, for Otis in general. They laid on the couch together, eventually moving into his bedroom and facing one another in the darkness. They had to share a pillow, but she didn’t mind it, she didn’t care what she had to do to get closer to him, even if it did involve her head resting halfway off of the pillow and onto the mattress. He fell asleep long before she did, and she just watched him rest, her fingers finding their way to the features on his face as she savored this moment and tucked it into the folder she had for him inside her brain. When she finally fell asleep, she did so with a smile on her face, and one hand resting on the side of his face to remind herself that this wasn’t a dream, that it was real, that the feelings they had been harboring for each other was real, and that it couldn’t have came together in a more perfect way.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you all enjoyed reading this mess, because it was actually really fun to write? I may write more stuff like this in the future for them? Let me know if anyone would be up for reading that! Anyways, kudos and comments are always appreciated and even encouraged. hope you all are well x.


End file.
